All of my non-Southern friends are amazed at the Southern rainstorm. When it rains in the South, it doesn't just rain, it literally pours in buckets. Rain hits the windshield of your car like someone threw a pail of water on it. Less experienced drivers will pull of to the side of the road when this happens as the windshield wipers literally cannot keep up with the deluge. A drizzle in the South is just a pleasant cooling diversion. Our idea of a "good rain" is a waterfall. My friend, Deborah, got to experience a rainstorm during her "dialect" trip. She was a bit astounded, enough to comment on the intensity. Mind you, living in Southern California does not expose her often to rainfall in general.
Speaking of Deborah's visit, two other test subjects for her trusty tape recorder were my parents, Jack and Janice Thornton. Dad was able to give Deborah a true Mississippi Delta accent. He was born and raised in Tunica County, MS (about 50 miles from Memphis, TN) in the heart of cotton country. As a boy, Dad tells us that shoes were only for winter, and the worse part of having to visit the "outhouse" were the spiders lurking in the dark places. Needless to say, he did not like to hearken to the call of nature in the middle of the night. (Just for the record, we do all have indoor plumbing - this was a long time ago.) My father is also an Ear, Nose and Throat physician, so I hear that Deborah and dad also had a lively discussion on "nodes" in the throat during their taped interview. Sorry I missed that....
My mom, Janice, was born and raised in Hertford, NC, a northeastern NC town. Deborah was able to capture that particular lilt on tape also. All in all, we had a fantastic trip, made some excellent friends, and were able to spend some quality time together.
Water Facts: The world is 70% water (95% of that is in the oceans). Isn't it interesting to note the the human body is also made up of between 55-70% water?
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